Hmmm... a good story involves diversity, and it works. Stories where all the characters have the same: job/personality/clothes/etc are less appealing that stories with diversity in them, because a story is powered by its contrasts which come exclusively from its diversity.

Agreed. That's a given for all stories but you're referring to diversity in things far more complex and nuanced than skin colour or gender. If I want to tell an Iron Man story with redemption at its heart then I'm going to put Tony in the suit and not Rhodey. That has nothing to do with race and everything to do with the individual aspects of the character, Rhodey was never a naive arms dealer.

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Originally Posted by DrCosmic

A good story without diversity is like a good painting with only one color. This naturally extends to ethnic diversity - unless your theme is about people being the same in a given way like in a period movie. Again, compare the mainstream popularity of X-Men and Avengers vs Fantastic Four and Justice League. Compare how many events revolve around the former vs the latter. Diversity is awesome, and should always be a concern for an audience that lives in diversity.

Is there any theme that a minority character is not appropriate to explore?

I don't think this extends nearly as naturally as you claim here, jumping from all white men with identical characteristics, jobs etc to a racially diverse group as if there is no medium. Ethnicity and gender can be very important in providing a story with diversity in opinion or perspective, but usually that will be in stories more specifically about cultural differences, inequality etc. More often though, I'd say that characters contribute more based on their characterisation and actions. Fury didn't contribute to the Avengers by being black but rather by proving a parallel to Loki and demonstrating the equivalent problems with uniting under one organisation. Here, white Fury would be equally applicable but, say Sharon Carter, wouldn't as she would not operate in the same way Fury would.